Drifters

by Crow Mahn

Jaune Arc awoke in a world that was not quite his own. A world of bloody evolution that seemed hellbent on destroying all life. So armed with a strange device on his arm and with a mysterious yet brutal companion the boy's journey through Earth begins with a bang. Can he survive and keep his morals in tact, or will he fall to the many trappings and vices of this broken world?

"I don't want to set the world on fire~ I just want to start a flame in your heart~"

Those words haunted a fifteen year old Jaune Arc as he awoke not in his own bed, but on the cold, hard ground of somewhere foreign. A place that was most certainly not his home… Everything was just off. The once bright blue walls of his bedroom were replaced with garishly floral print plaster. The ground he laid on was not plush crème colored carpet, it was musty and faded blue. But most importantly his ceiling which once was spanned with a dozen X-Ray and Vav posters was gone. There was nothing there save for the odd jut of decayed wood and a hopelessly drab sky.

Panic set in as Jaune began to hyperventilate- the crisp air of his hometown was replaced with acrid, searing smog. Each breath sent his throat and lungs on fire but he couldn't stop breathing! So with great teeth and tears blossoming in the corners of his eyes the boy slowly began to pull himself into a sitting position. But as he moved he noticed a strange weight on his left forearm. So with blurry vision he lifted a gangly arm up to his face.

Through the tears Jaune could see some weird metallic device was strapped to his forearm. One composed of a dull silver metal with a glass screen. Several different dials, switches, and flashing lights stood out. Idly Jaune thumbed the biggest of the switches, causing the screen to light up with a dull green glow. Three distinct tabs blared to life at the top with a small display below them, showcasing a jaunty little fellow facing Jaune with a set of beady black eyes… It unnerved the boy quite a bit but he scanned over the 'Status' menu- which was pretty comprehensive.

His heart rate, blood pressure and oxygenation, the time of day, internal and external radiation levels, and a mysterious sub-tab called 'S.P.E.C.I.A.L.' were all on display. Slightly awed by the strange device Jaune turned one of the smaller side knobs, flicking the screen to the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. tab. Where seven words were arranged with seven corresponding numeric values. And- to be honest- Jaune was a bit miffed by what he found.

Strength: 4

Perception: 6

Endurance: 4

Charisma: 7

Intelligence: 10

Agility: 4

Luck: 5

He wasn't that weak- was he?

He then turned the biggest of the dials, flicking the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. screen away to the 'Data' screen. Revealing a topographic map of his immediate surroundings. Complete with an image of the same dandy fellow hovering over what looked to be an image of ruins. Above his head sat the word 'Shreveport'- Which raised more than a few alarms in the boy's skull… He had no idea where this so-called Shreveport was, and he was pretty sure it wasn't on any of the maps he had studied for world geography. Even if it was destroyed by the Grimm then it would at least be marked as 'Lost' like dozens of other settlements.

There were two other sub-tabs which Jaune quickly flicked over to. The first was a 'Notes?' page which was, of course, completely blank. Jaune nodded to himself and flicked to the next sub-tab was labeled 'Acquired Data'- which was also blank. But judging from the weird looking port on the top of the device he could I put stuff like floppy disks in and get the data from them… Useful- but not necessarily the most important thing in the moment.

The final of the tabs was labeled 'Radio', and upon flipping to it Jaune saw that a station labeled 'Far Down the Bay' was playing that damnable song. So after a few seconds of fiddling he was able to turn it off, giving him a moment of silence to collect his maelstrom of thoughts and emotions. Fear, anger, confusion, and a dozen other less than palpable feelings swirled inside the boy's mind. Only for his brooding to be interrupted by the biting staccato of gunfire… Jaune knew the sound well, growing up on the frontier of Anima meant that it was ultimately a common occurrence.

Slowly, Jaune managed to get to his feet and amble out into a short little hallway painted what once was painted a jaunty yellow- But now? It looked like piss… Really! That was the best way to describe the color, even as he stepped into yet another flower print room. This time a kitchen/dining room combo which looked strange. Everything was in faded pastel hues and oddly rounded. From the oven to the fridge to the television. It was all round. Nothing like the harsh lines and sharp colors of the appliances at home.

More gunfire barked from outside causing Jaune to stumble through the nonexistent door- Seriously, it was just gone. Ripped right off of its hinges and nowhere to be found. In fact- there were multiple things missing. Like windows, light switches, and lights. And as the boy stepped out into the scorching even sun he was momentarily blinded. Causing him to trip, fall, and bust his lips. The iron-copper tinge of blood filled his mouth as Jaune pushed himself up and spat.

"God fucking damnit- Motherfucking crackwhore- I'll fuck your dad in front of your mom- Go find a short pier and take a fucking dive- FUCK." A loud, raspy, but ultimately monotone voice cried out, punctuated by more gunfire.

Spitting once again and internally swearing himself, Jaune pushed himself shakily forward to his feet. And in the street in front of him stood a girl surrounded by what appeared to be giant cockroaches of all things. She didn't notice Jaune as she continued to swear, dodge leaps from the cockroaches, and shoot at the things. Meanwhile he continued to stumble forward until he tripped on something. Sending him tumbling once more to the ground. A sharp and searingly painful line formed across his eyebrow, blood began to weep from the wound into his eyes as he fumbled around for something to hold onto. For anything to grab to pull himself up.

Jaune didn't find anything to push himself up with- but he did find something useful. His searching hands quickly found purchase on something cold and metallic. Pushing himself up with the new weapon- the tire iron -in hand Jaune limped his way to the small skirmish. Blood stung his eye as he grabbed the tire iron in both hands, he swung- and caught one of the roaches midair with a sickening CR-CRUNCH. It was sickly satisfying but Jaune ignored the feeling as he found himself sloppily slamming his foot down on another roach. It squelched horribly beneath his foot.

The girl regarded him with bloodshot eyes for a moment before jumping back- right as all six remaining roaches all began to focus on Jaune. Who quickly began to backpedal to escape a pounce. His vision was blurry and stained with red as he once again tripped on something mysteriously solid- but the sickening crunch of something that reminded the boy of the one time he broke his arm told him it was bone. Which raised more than a few questions as to what he had tripped over- but Jaune was too busy flailing about.

CRACK- CRACK- CRACK- CRACK- CRACK- CRACK-

The girl's pistol barked out six consecutive times while Jaune watched her hands move with preternatural fluidity. But before he could really comment, the boy's head connected with the concrete. Jaune saw stars as he reflexively shot a hand to his head. But before he could really do anything he felt something press hard into his stomach and something cold press lightly against his neck. Still seeing stars Jaune couldn't really get a read on what exactly was going on.

"Who th'fuck are you supposed to be," A monotone voice drawled in a raspy Southern Valean accent.

"Jaune- Jaune Arc… Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it," Jaune managed out, still tasting blood.

What Jaune realized was a knife was pulled away- Just for the girl to slam her palm into his neck, "What're you? French or some shit? You one of those socialist fuckwads? You tryina' invade my America?" She growled, somehow still in a monotone.

"C-Can't-" Jaune sputtered as the girl's monstrous strength threatened to cut off any semblance of air flow to his lungs.

"Can't what? Huh?" Her hand pressed further onto his throat, "Can't wait to fucking ruin this golden country? Can't begin to explain why you're here? CAN'T WHAT HUH? WHAT CAN'T YOU FUCKING DO?" She began to scream as Jaune's vision began to go black.

Despite the impending doom Jaune stared up at his soon-to-be murderer's face. Sharp and angular sun kissed features were drawn into a bloodthirsty snarl. Dozens of small cuts, both fresh and scarred over, covered her sweat stained face. But he could do nothing but look up at her dully colored but wild eyes. A glare hard as steel bored down onto him and Jaune could only manage out a word. A single damnable word. One that he instantly regretted- but would probably never get the chance to fully lament on.

"Beautiful…" Call it a blend of teenage hormones and desperation but it really was the only thing Jaune could manage out.

"God- Fuckin'- Just- Damnit- Fine!" She growled before releasing the boy's throat, "FINE. JUST FUCKING SHUT UP ALREADY," She screamed to no one in particular.

Jaune sucked in a breath of burning air in and ghosted a hand up to the cut across his eyebrow. Smearing now slightly dried blood across his forehead as he took a few more deep breaths in. For a moment all he could do was stare at the murky, ash gray sky. His neck burned just like the air in his lungs. He had narrowly avoided death by giant cockroach, knife, and strangulation… In the span of about eight minutes Jaune Arc had faced more death and danger than he had in his entire life.

Meanwhile, the girl continued to swear and rant, her dusty gray overcoat swished in the breeze as her black combat boots crunched on the broken up gravel. Jaune saw flashes of a white shirt beneath her heavy coat and the same dusty gray fatigue pants. She cut a striking figure- if not a little disheveled. Her shirt was untucked, her coat was in tatters, and her pants had obvious holes in them. But that didn't stop her rant.

"God! What in the ever fucking loving name of liberty and justice is this shit! I leave Point Rain and THIS. Fucking Radroaches and raiders and blond dumnfucks. Now I've only got one mag! Christ… God… I need to get a move on," There was about a minute of pause before Jaune felt a sharp pain in his side- she kicked him, "Alright blondie. Now that my little flip out is over you're coming with me- I feel a little bad for almost killing you so get up… Even if you're some French socialist fuckwit.

Jaune did not want to get up.

There was another kick, "Up. They send Vertibird patrols out 'round this time. You know what happens if you get caught by those, right?"

Another kick and Jaune groaned, unable to really think.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Get UP damnit. They're gonna kill you if they see you," The girl swore.

Finally, not wanting to get kicked again Jaune struggled to his feet, grabbing his crowbar he found himself on his feet. Wobbly standing next to the girl, "M'up… M'up… You done… You done kicking me?" He slurred.

"Yeah. Move your ass to one of the houses, I'll take a look at your head there," She said, already beginning to slip into a larger, yellow tinged, two story house.

As she did that Jaune looked back to see what he'd tripped on not once but twice- It was a corpse… Or at least a skeleton clad in what was left of what appeared to be armor. Just absolutely shredded. Gashes and gunshot penetrations. And upon closer inspection he was able to see that there was a holster wrapped around his waist… A holster with a weapon in it. So, channeling his inner loot-goblin cultivated from years of gaming, Jaume unclipped the thing and reclipped it around his own waist.

"Fuckwit- Blondie- Jaune! Get your ass in here," The girl called out harshly, but still in a monotone.

A booming, harsh beating cut through the decrepit neighborhood from what Jaune could only assume was whatever a 'Vertibird' was. Scrambling, he limped his way to the house. Nearly collapsing in the doorway just to get hauled in by the girl by the shoulders and thrown onto the couch. The boy yelped in pain and continued to see stars as the girl began to pace back and forth. Muttering to herself all the while.

Jaune simply relaxed- as much as he could anyways. The couch smelled like death and he could feel the thing's springs digging into his back. But he had a feeling that the dingy couch was going to be the best he could get. On the bright side he was no longer bleeding into his eye- He just had blood smeared all across his face and hare… It wasn't much of a bright side but at that point Jaune was just looking for anything resembling a silver lining.

After a moment more of pacing the girl paused and Jaune heard a heavy THUNK, causing him to turn his head and see a heavy polyester bag next to his couch. The next moment the girl was kneeling down next to the bag, rifling around in it. Her dirty, matted, raven black hair was all sorts of all over the place. And Jaune could only dully regard her as he clutched at his now throbbing head.

"Not gonna waste a Stimpack but I've got some booze and sutures. Hold still for a minute blondie," The girl said, pulling out a cloudy bottle of liquid and a small first aid kit.

"Why'd you have to kick me so much?" Jaune mumble-whined

"Quit being a bitch," She snapped before setting the bottle of what Jaune assumed was booze in his lap, "Take a swig," She commanded.

Jaune hesitantly complied- just to barely choke back the first swig of burning liquid- "The hell is this stuff?" He managed.

"Moonshine cut with battery acid, keep drinking."

"I- … Okay…" He said, relenting.

But honestly? Jaune never thought that he'd be drinking any time soon. He was just a kid, but the unspoken promise of pain relief was just too good. So the boy kept sipping on the bottle, wanting to spit it all out. It burned going down and made his stomach hurt- but after about three minutes of drinking the pain started to dull. It wasn't much, nothing close to how painkillers would do, but it was something. And before he knew it, Jaune was a third of the way through the bottle, and he felt great- Not really. He felt like shit, just more relaxed and somewhat disoriented.

"Aight- that should be enough. Now hold still a moment…" The girl said, snatching the bottle away just to grab a cloth and dab some of the alcohol on it.

A moment later the alcohol wetted cloth was dabbed against the boy's lip. It burned like hell, but all Jaune could only grit his teeth and let out a low hiss as the girl continued. She cleaned the dried blood and grime from his lip, then his eyebrow and forehead. Not so gently scraping the dried blood from his face with the rough cloth. After that was done the girl reached down into her bag and produced a pair of butterfly sutures. She set them and the cloth on Jaune's chest before squeezing the cut on the boy's lip together before placing the butterflies on it. She repeated the process with his forehead before stepping back and plopping down onto a nearby chair.

The girl took a long lull from the bottle before leaning back, closing her eyes for a moment before rasping out a single sentence, "M'Liz…" She said.

"It's nice to meet you Liz," It wasn't.

"So. You a vault dweller or something," She- Liz questioned.

"A vault dweller?"

"Y'know- one of the freaks who hid away in underground bunkers when the bombs fell? Abandoning their country and turning traitor? Doesn't ring a bell, does it?" Liz growled, cracking open an eye to shoot him a withering gaze.

"No- I uhh… Don't really know where I am…"

"Shreveport," Liz said gruffly.

Jaune sighed, "Yeah but like- where on Remnant are we? Vale? Mistral? Vacuo? Atlas?"

"America you disphit…" There was a pause before both her eyes opened, boring into Jaune, "The United States? Most powerful country on Earth? Bastion of freedom and democracy upheld for three hundred years on the backs of patriots like me?"

"I uhh… I don't think I'm from here…" Jaune said uncomfortably, still rubbing his head.

"No shit. You some sort of alien?" Liz asked before taking another swig of the moonshine, and while she was probably joking with that comment- Jaune wasn't with his answer.

"I got a feeling that I am…"

There was a bout of pause, only interrupted by the sloshing of Liz's bottle.

"Jesus… Lucky me. I took pity on some sort of fuckin' schizophrenic…" She groaned before standing up, towering over the still prone Jaune, "I'll ask you this once- so you better not lie… Are. You. A. Communist?"

While Jaune didn't know what a Communist was- he did know that Liz didn't like them, so he answered accordingly, "No! … No, I'm not a communist."

The closest thing to a Communist that Jaune knew of were the Communards of Vale. Atlesian political dissidents setting up in the Drury- the industrial district of Vale proper. And from what he could remember they were an actual political party, one that was directly opposed to the National Rally and the Ecologists. While Jaune wasn't anywhere close to knowledgeable in the field of political theory- Jaune did study enough of everything to know he certainly wasn't one of them. Being from an Animan Freehold after all.

"You even know what a communist is?" She shit back.

Jaune flinched slightly from the question, "They're uhh- like the Communards from where I'm from?" He said tentatively.

"Fucking French…" Liz muttered, "Okay- where exactly are you from? She asked, taking another swig. The bottle was halfway done.

"Well… I'm not really from here… Or this planet it seems…" Jaune admitted.

After another swig Liz closed her eyes once again, "You're either living in some sort of delusion- or you're not actually from Earth… Amazing. Really."

"Really?"

"Fuck no! You're either some mentally deficient mutant or you're an alien who doesn't even know the grace of democracy! I bet you don't even get to vote who your leaders are! And now I'm stuck in here with you until the patrols end. Fucking great, isn't it?" Idly she began to spin her pistol on her finger.

Jaune looked to his tire iron, which he hadn't let go of despite everything- And he had a feeling that it'd be useless against Liz. So he just closed his eyes and sighed, "I don't want to be here either…" He mumbled.

Liz didn't respond, which left the two teens to simply sit in almost silence. And after a while Jaune found himself slipping into unconsciousness despite the threat presented to him… He was drunk, hurrying, and more than a little afraid. All of which had exhausted the poor boy well beyond his normal threshold. And honestly? All of his meager adrenaline supplies had finally run out, leaving him drunk and somewhat exhausted. After about ten more minutes of the harsh cacophony of whatever the Vertibird was faded. Leaving Jaune and Liz both in actual silence.

It didn't last long though, because right as Jaune was about to finally drift off in a drunken stupor Liz bolted upright, "Up. Get up damnit." She hissed for the second time that day.

This time Jaune was able to get to his feet in decent time, but by that point Liz had pressed herself flat against the door closest to the wall. Pistol now in its holster while a knife- black as coal -sat in her dominant hand. So Jaune followed suit, pressing himself next to Liz with his crowbar in hand. And after a moment he was able to hear it- Voices. Three distinct voices were breaking the silence, two male and one female.

"Damn Enclave, makin' us hide like a bunch of fucking Radroaches," The first, female, voice complained.

"Speakin'o Radroaches- Check it y'all. Twenty o'em dead on the ground, blood's fresh too," A second, high and nasally, male voice replied.

"Should be some easy marks then… Lotta bullets spent on some varmint," The third, low and gravely, male voice said, "Keep her eyes open. I'm hungry 'an some dumbfucks sound pretty good right 'bout now."

Jaune blanched as Liz's lips curled into a terrifying snarl, "Raiders… Fuck…"

A beat passed and Jaune saw the shadows of the three 'Raiders' pass by the door. The next moment Liz began to soundlessly slip around the wall and out into the street… He could do nothing but follow at a sluggish pace, praying to the Brothers above that nothing would creak or snap beneath his feet. Once outside the boy saw a flash of dusty gray and heard a wet, strained, agonized gurgle as Liz drove her knife into the throat of one of the male Raiders. He could do nothing but stare in morbid curiosity as the man choked to death on his own blood.

He blinked as bile began to well up in his throat- And the female Raider was the first to whorl around- just to be slashed across the mouth. A splatter of blood was sent flying as the Raider screamed. But the second male raider began to charge at Liz with some sort of wooden sword held above his head. In a brutish manner he tried to bring the board-sword down on Liz, just for the girl to sidestep the mighty strike.

"Jaune- Get your ass over her!" Liz growled, ducking another blow.

He had a decision to make.

Time was ticking.

His lungs burned and his head throbbed,

Time seemed to slow.

Jaune felt himself moving before he knew what was going on. He had his tire iron raised above his head and quickly he was upon the male Raided. Screaming a wordless scream he brought the tool down on the man's shoulder. Jaune heard a sickening C-CRUNCH but the boy didn't stop there. Bringing the tire iron up once again just to bring it on the whimpering Radier's head- causing the man to crumple to the ground.

He wanted to puke.

He was crying.

The raider was mumbling indecipherably on the ground.

The final one had drawn a gun and was pointing it at Liz.

"STOP. I SAID FUCKING STOP," She screamed, hands visibly shaking as she pointed a crude looking revolver at Liz.

"Or what?" Liz growled, flipping her knife around so that the blade was between her index finger and thumb before raising it over her head.

"O-Or… I'll shoot you! Yeah! I'll shoot you and I'll sodomize your corpse y'goddamn whore. Th-Then I'll kill your little boyfriend… After I- I uhh make 'em watch as Markie has his way with you," The Raider said shakily.

There was a beat of pause.

"Wrong answer- Bitch," Liz replied, twitching her arm forward with an inhuman grace, sending a flash of gleaming black metal into the female Raider's gun hand.

She dropped the gun and let out a gut wrenching scream. Liz was on her a second later, sinking a haymaker into her stomach. The Raider bent over, vomit and spittle falling from her lips as Liz slammed her hand into her jaw in a nasty uppercut. Following it up with a left cross then a right jab. Sending the female Raider sprawling onto the ground. Just for Liz to calmly walk forwards and kneel before the woman. Bringing her hand down onto the woman's face again and again and again and again and again until she stopped whimpering. Leaving just the sound of wet crunching-squelching in the painfully still air as Jaune watched on in horror.

After a good minute of the sickening sound of bones crunching and brain matter squelching Liz stood. Blood, red as roses, dripped from her gloved hand as she stalked over to 'Markie'. Standing over the downed man and making Jaune take a step back as her burning glare shifted from Markie to Jaune himself.

"You decided to keep him alive, hmm?" There was a beat of pause as Jaune wilted beneath Liz's withering gaze before she smiled. A broad, ear-to-ear grin showcasing a set of pearly white teeth as she spoke, "Fucker prolly knows something," She said before unceremoniously kicking the man over, "Hey dipshit. How many are there?"

There was a beat of pause before she stomped down on the man's probably fractured collar bone. Markie screamed and screamed and screamed as Liz ground her heel down onto his wound. And after a moment of agony which made Jaune want to puke even more, Markie managed out a plea for mercy and an answer to the damming question.

"N-NONE… N-NONE… W-W-WE'RE I-IT! I-I-I PR-PROMISE!" He whimpered.

"Okay… You lying to me- huh?" Liz said before stomping the man in the face.

"NO!" Markie replied.

Stomp-Cr-Crunch.

"No what?"

Stomp-Cr-Crunch.

"N-NO M-M-MA'AM."

Stomp-Cr-Crunch.

"You sure?"

Stomp-Cr-Crunch.

"Y-Yes…"

"Yes what?"

Stomp-Cr-Crunch.

"Y-Yes M-Ma'am…"

Stomp-Cr-Crunch.

"Good."

Stomp-Cr-Crunch. Stomp-Cr-Crunch. Stomp-Cr-Crunch. Stomp-Cr-Crunch. Stomp-Cr-Crunch. Stomp-CR-CRUNCH. Stomp-Squelch. Stomp-Squelch. Stomp-Squelch. Stomp-Squelch.

Finally Liz finished silencing the man just to sashay over to Jaune, a murderous grin was set across her lips as she stood before Jaune. Being a few inches taller the boy had to look up at her. Idly she traced a bloodied finger across the line of Jaune's jaw. Smearing warm blood across the boy's face.

"Check the bodies for anything useful while I get cleaned up," She ordered before brushing past him.

Once he was sure he was gone, Jaune stumbled off to the side and puked. His throat didn't burn any more and he didn't feel any better. In fact, he felt worse. Just empty and disoriented. Even as he stumbled over to the bloody messes of the three raiders and knelt next to the one called Markie… He tried to not look at the man's face, but out of the corner of his eye Jaune could see a mess of red and gray where the man's head should have been.

On the body of Markie Jaune found a sack of bottle caps, a bottle of soda, three somewhat small bullets, three weird looking syringes and a pair of thick leather gloves. The final of which Jaune slipped on, not wanting to touch the gore. With a sigh he moved onto the next man, the one who Liz stabbed. In his pockets he found more bullets, bottle caps, a rusty looking switchblade, and a red bandana which Jaune slipped over his mouth. Hoping that it would make the air somewhat better to breath… And on the final corpse, the woman's, he found a revolver like the one he had, a box of bullets, bottle caps, and a small backpack.

By the time he was done Liz had reappeared, looming over the kneeling Jaune, "Lay what you found out for me," He did just that, laying the items out in a scraggly row. Liz then kneeled down next to him and began to go through it all, counting them aloud, "Fifty Eight Caps, three Stimpacks, a Nuka-Cola, fifty six .45 rounds, a pipe revolver, a switchblade, and a backpack…"

She took all the so-called Caps, the soda, and one of the Stimpacks before nodding to Jaune to take the rest. So the boy did, shoving the box of bullets into the backpack with the knife. While the Stimpacks went in his hoodie's pocket and eleven .45 rounds. And after a moment of consideration he pulled out his revolver and popped the chamber out. Seeing as that there was only a single round in the chamber he slipped five more rounds into place before closing the cylinder.

Jaune was somewhat well acquainted with firearms, being from the frontier and all. His father taught him to shoot different types of handguns until he was somewhat proficient. He could hit a moving target from fifty feet four out of six times- so that'd have to be enough… Sighing once again he slipped the revolver into his holster, zipped up the backpack, and slung it around his back. After that he looked to Liz and offered a shaky smile with bloodstained lips.

"So… Where are we going from here? A-Assuming you want me around…" Jaune asked, trying to seem more confident than he was.

Liz huffed and shifted the bag on her back a bit before replying, "Benton. There's an old workshop there. S'far enough out of the range of Enclave patrols… Issue is- it's a good twenty five miles out and across the Red River… But you don't know what any of that means, do you?" She asked.

"Nope! How bad can it be?" Jaune shot back, not really wanting an answer.

"You think this little scuffle was bad? Everything after this is gonna be worse, but that's just the wasteland," She stated plainly.

After somewhat deflating Jaune replied, "I don't really have a lot of options, so I'm game."

Liz cracked a grin, "Good. Welcome to the wasteland Jaune, shit's only gonna get worse from here."

There wasn't a single word more exchanged between the two teens, even as they departed the sight of their skirmish. The burning air was tinged with blood and Jaune couldn't help but feel afraid, though it was all being shoved somewhere deep down inside of him… Liz was not the type of person who he wanted to show weakness in front of. So he grit his teeth and stepped over the corpses with his new partner in crime as the sun hung lazily above them, casting the world in a searing light which brought sweat to the boy's brow.

Jaune Arc really wished he could go home.

---

Welcome to the Wasteland Jaune.

I don't really have a whole lot to say about this other than the typical spiel. It's Fallout, it's RWBY, it's dark, and our favorite Everyman Archetype is on the long road to becoming less of a little bitch. All with the help of a mysterious black haired girl with a penchant for high impact violence. Is he ready? Hell no! Is he irradiated? Hell yes! So yeah! Let's fucking go!

Also whoever guesses what faction Liz was a part of gets a cookie.

EDIT: Added in bolds and italics for spice.